Mooring apparatus for submarine mines.



P. A. H. HARLE.

MOORING APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINE MINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, 1913.

Patented July 14, 1914;

FIG-2.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEio I FBEDERIcAUGUsTE HENRI HARLE, OF PAEIs, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR To HAELE' & 00., or PARIS, FRANCE, A CORPORATION OF FRANCE.

MOORING APPARATUS FOR SUB-MARINE MINES.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERIC AUGUSTE HENRI HARLE, of 26 Avenue de Suffren, Paris, France, engineer, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mooring Apparatus for Submarine Mines, whlch improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention has for its object an arrangement for regulating the depth of immersion of submarine mines, in which the drum upon which the mooring cable of the mine is found is locked by suitable locking means actuated when a lead touches the bottom. The length of line carrying the lead determines the height above the bottom at which the mine will come to rest.

According to the present invention the lead line is wound upon a drum or the like within the anchor and means are provided for stopping the running out of the lead line at a point which can be fixed before the mine is placed in the water. The line is wound upon a drum or the like located within the casing of the anchoring mechanism which drum is locked to prevent further unwinding of the line when the desired length has run out. The lead line is connected in any suitable manner to the mecha nism which looks the mooring cable in the known way.

The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically one method of carrying out the invention.

In this drawingFigure 1 represents a vertical sectional view of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 a sectional detail view of the locking mechanism for the lead-line drum.

1 In the drawing a (Fig. l) is the casing or support for the anchoring mechanism which contains the drum 2) on which the mooring rope 0 of the mine is wound. The known arrangement for locking the drum consists of a ratchet wheel (Z for example with which a detent e fixed to a lever f engages; one end of the lever is pivoted at g the other end being acted on by the lead.

it is a spring which tends to pull the detent 0 into engagement with the ratchet wheel d.

i is the line to which the lead j is attached; the line passes over the pulley is mounted at the end of the detent lever 70, then beneath a guide pulley Z mounted in the casing or support, and is wound in a sin- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 5, 1913.

Patented July 14, 1914. Serial No. 788,314.

gle layer around a drum m which can turn freely in its bearings m. The drum has upon its outer surface one or two notches n (Fig. 2) parallel with the axis of the drum.

he casing a is provided near to the drum mwith a slot 0 parallel to the axis of said drum.

1) is a pin moving in said hole the pin being inclosed in a box Q and being subjected to the action of a spring 1' which tends to push it into the interior of the casing. The box 9 which can slide and may be moved by hand, is guided by flanges s on the casing or support a. Any suitable arrangement not shown in the drawing may serve to fix it at any point along the slot 0 which is graduated.

In order that the line 2' may assume upon the drum m a properly determined position, the drum may be provided with a helicoidal groove in which the line can lie.

The working of the apparatus is as fol lows: Before placing the mine in the water,

the box g is fixed by hand at a determined point along the slot 0, the lead line z' is wound in a single layer upon the drum m and the pin 79 by the action of its spring 7" presses upon the line 2'. When the mine is in the water and released the lead commences to fall by its own weight; it lowers the lever f and releases the detent e in the known manner; further it unwinds its line i until the pin 79 can by the unwinding of the line come against the outer surface of the I drum m and arrest it by engaging in one of the grooves n. The lead is then suspended by a line of the desired length. When the lead touches the bottom of the sea, the lever frises under the action of its spring h and the detent e arrests the drum 6.

Of course any other arrangement for unwinding the lead line and having an adjustable stop may be employed and it may be placed in any other suitable position in the casing. I

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be per formed I declare that what I claim is: I

1. In mooring apparatus for submarine mines, a support for the anchoring mechanism, a mooring drum for winding or unwinding the mooring rope arranged on the support and means for locking said drum, in combination with a second drum arranged mines, a support for the anchoring mecha nism, a mooring drum for winding and un winding the mooring rope arranged on the support and a locking lever for said drum fulcrumed on the support, and provided with a lead-line guide at its tree portion, in combination with a second drum mounted on the same support, a lead and a lead-line wound on said second drum and passing over theguide on the locking lever and means for stopping said second drum when a predetermined length of lead-line has been i unwound therefrom.

3; In mooring apparatus for submarine mines, a support for the anchoring mecha nism, a mooring drum for winding and unwinding the mooring rope arranged on the support and a locking lever for said drum" fulcrumed on the support, and provided with a lead-line guide at its tree portion, in combination with asecond drum mounted on the same support, a lead and" a lead-line wound on said second drum and passing over the guide on the locking lever, stopping means for said second drum arranged to beheld out of operative position said lead-1111mm means for urgingitinto stop;

ping position whenn'o-t bearing ohtheiadline.

4. In mooring apparatus for submarine V mines of the class described, the combination .of a drum provided with a longitudinal] groove, a lead-line wound on Samara-mafia stop mechanism adapted to be adjusted and to engage with said groove when the line has run out to the predetermined extent;

5. In mooring apparatus for submarine mines, a drum provided with a" longitudinal stop and a lead-line wound-onsaid drumfinf combination with a locking pin yieldingly- I urged against the drum and arranged to bearon the lead-line and tojengage the 161igitudinal stop when clear of the lead-line; I

6. In mooring'apparatus for, submarine mines, a drum provided with a longitudinal stop and a lead-line wound on saidtdrnm, in

combination with a locking pin yieldinglyurged against the drum and arranged to bear on the lead-line and to engage the longitudina'l stop when clear of the lead-line, the said locking pin being longitudinally ad justable with respect to said drum.

test mony whereof I have slgnedthis I specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIO' AUGUSTE HENRI "11mm. 1

WVitnesse s 7 HANsoN G. Coxn ALEXIS PETITPIERRE.

Washington; D; C. 

